Archive for the ‘apples’

Well, life kinda got in the way this month with illness and travel playing rather large parts. So, my shopping month was a bit more truncated than I would’ve liked. But, one must roll with the (figurative) punches.

There wasn’t a whole lot new this month. The winter produce is still coming in: root vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, dark greens, lettuces, and citrus. I’m certainly not complaining; I love my winter produce. But, I will say, I am looking forward to what the spring will be bringing.

I did expand a bit beyond just produce and bought some amazing meats and eggs. The meats were definitely splurge items. But, given the flavor and quality, the occasional outlay is worth it.

Wed., Feb 4.

For my first forays into the new month, I decided on two old familiars, Boggy Creek and Springdale Farms. I not only love both these places for the obvious reasons – fresh organic produce, fresh eggs & dairy, locally made products, homemade treats – but also for the quiet they offer in a city growing way too fast.

My first stop was Boggy Creek Farm. Along with the produce, I stretched myself this time and splurged on some excellent lamb chops and eggs.

Nothing like farm-fresh eggs. It said “large” on the carton. But, I swear some were jumbos.

Personally, I think Romanesco is one of the most beautiful vegetables .

More Romanesco. It grows thick and fast this time of year.

The broccoli and cabbage table.

Jeweled carrots.

Boggy Creek’s salad mixes.

Collards and Kale.

FYI

Spring trying to sneak in.

Lettuces in the one of the fields at Boggy Creek.

My next destination was Springdale Farm. I didn’t buy quite as much there. They did have garlic chives again, though. Yea!

Even if I don’t buy much, I love to simply go to the farm and look around. It’s a great place to simply look at the farm, the chickens, and the yard art and meditate a little.

My haul from Springdale Farm: Beets, Savoy Cabbage, Garlic Chives

Radishes, Savoy Cabbage, Frisee, Turnips, and flowers in jars.

Carrots galore.

Some of the fields and yard art at the farm.

Rows of dill.

baby broccoli in the field.

Looking to the back of the farm stand.

One of the other delights at Springdale is Eden East Restaurant. It’s a reservation-only, weekend-only restaurant. They use only locally sourced ingredients in their dishes. As a result, no menu is the same week-to-week.

Admittedly, I haven’t eaten there yet. I’ve promised myself that I’ll make reservations for Husband & me soon. I know people who have eaten there and they all say the same thing – it’s an incredible experience.

By the way, it’s BYOB.

The kitchen and seating at Eden East.

Love the stove.

Sat., Feb. 14

In anticipation of Husband Steve coming home from a business trip, I headed out to the Downtown Farmers Market to stock up on a few groceries for the weekend.

It was still chilly, but certainly warmer than my last visit in January. At least none of the vendors looked like they were going to freeze.

Chicken from Smith & Smith Farms. I hit a week where they didn’t have fresh chickens available. Still, this one was no more than a few days from the yard,

Phoenix Farms. I bought some gorgeous Brussels Sprouts here. Their produce was lovely.

Beautiful Brussels Sprouts. They comprised part of Saturday Night’s dinner.

After Springdale, I headed the roughly half mile over the Boggy Creek. While I didn’t take any photos in the farm stand that day, I did do some wandering around the grounds and took some there.

Red Lettuce growing next to the parking lot. I have to say, Carol Ann & Larry have a lot of faith in their customers not driving into the field.

Green puffs of frisee in a row.

Some lovely red lettuce. Ignore the hose.

One of my favorite spots at Boggy Creek. The bench looking at the fields. When the vines are flowering, it’s gorgeous.

Fields of broccoli (I think)

Some of Boggy Creek’s always busy chickens.

Boggy Creek haul, part one: Dino Kale, Brassica Salad, Sweet Potatoes

Boggy Creek haul, part two: New York Strip from Deer Run Longhorns and ground lamb from Loncinto’s Lamb

Cocao Hull Cocoa Powder from Organicare Farms. I’ve never used this before, so I’m interested to see how it works and tastes. It smells divine, just like good chocolate should.

And, so… On to March.

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As promised in January, here are two recipes using ingredients that I bought at the markets and stands this month.

Shrimp, cauliflower, ginger, garlic, and lime all have a natural flavor affinity with each other. So, I came up with this dish. If you don’t have garlic chives, just substitute 2 – 3 cloves of minced garlic and add it to the skillet when you saute the ginger and shallot.

Apologies for the lack of pictures with this recipe. The taking of photos was pretty much an afterthought that night. Not sure why.

Shrimp & Romanesco

4 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 head Romanesco, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 c. water or broth

1 tbsp. ginger, minced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 lb. large shrimp, peeled & deveined

2 tbsp. garlic chives

Lime juice to taste

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, saute the Romanesco for 5 minutes. Add the water or broth, cover the skillet, lower the heat to medium, and steam the Romanesco until it is slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2. Take the cover off the skillet and continue cooking until the Romanesco has started to brown in spots. Take it out of the skillet and set aside.

Cooking the Romanesco

3. Turn the heat back up to medium-high, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil to the skillet and heat. Saute the ginger and shallot until the shallot is soft, 2 – 3 minutes.

4. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are opaque and pink, about 7 – 10 minutes.

1. In a large skillet, either melt the butter or heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the caraway seeds and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Cooking the caraway seeds in the butter.

2. Add the cabbage, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook until the cabbage is slightly wilted, about 7 – 10 minutes.

Cooking down the cabbage. I like to use Savoy cabbage in this recipe because it cooks down fairly quickly and has a lighter flavor than regular green cabbage. I love green cabbage, but not for this dish. I find it a little too bitter. I’ve not tried Napa Cabbage.

3. Add the apples, carrot, apple cider vinegar, and a good pinch of pepper. Cook until the cabbage and apples are soft but still has some bite. Taste for seasoning.

Everything in the skillet. This is after about 10 minutes of cooking. The apples and cabbage are soft, but still with some bite.

I served this with the Cheddar & Jalapeno Sausage from Countryside Farms. Husband Steve was a very happy man.

The origin story of Waldorf Salad is a fairly straightforward and simple one. It was the creation of the long-time maitre d’ of the Waldorf Hotel (later to become the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel) in New York City, Oscar (“Oscar of the Waldorf”) Tschirky, in 1896. It became an instant favorite with diners at the hotel. Oscar, while not a chef, was the creator and inspiration of many of the dishes in the Waldorf’s first half-century. (He stayed with the hotel from 1893 until his retirement n 1943).

The original recipe consisted of simply apples, celery, and mayonnaise. Not long afterwards, walnuts were added and became an important component of the salad.

While I’ve stayed with the basic version of the salad, I have added my own variations as well. Somewhere along the way, I thought, why not add some blue cheese? It goes well with apples and walnuts as well as cutting some of the sweetness of the dried fruit. Besides, I just like blue cheese.

A few notes:

1. I like to use a mix of apples. As always, whenever I use apples in a recipe, Granny Smith apples are my base. I’ll add Pink Ladies, Gala, MacIntosh, or, if I’m feeling extravagant, Honeycrisp. The flavor contrast works well.

2. I’ve used both walnuts and pecans in this recipe. It just depends what I have on hand.

3. If you want to use yogurt in the salad, I would recommend going half-and-half with the mayonnaise. Yogurt alone would be too strong a flavor. Also, use a full-fat yogurt. Fat-free – yuk.

4. My preferred blue cheese in this recipe is either Amish Blue or Maytag Blue. These are both excellent American blue cheeses and are readily available. European-style blue cheeses (i.e. Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Cabrales), while delicious, are simply too strong.

5. I don’t peel my apples. You shouldn’t either.

6. I use very little celery in my recipe. Unlike the original recipe, I use it for flavoring, not as a main component. However, if you prefer to use more celery, feel free.

7. To make this dish vegan, simply omit the cheese (if you still want the cheese flavor, use nutritional yeast to taste), and use vegan mayonnaise.

The Ingredients

Granny Smith and Pink Lady Apples

Maytag Blue Cheese. Good stuff.

Walnuts. Not my favorite nut, but they work well here.

4 lg. apples, approx. 1 1/2 – 2 lbs.

1 lg. stalk celery, finely diced

1 1/2 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped (If you would like to toast them, put the nuts in a 350F oven for 5 – 7 minutes. Let cool before adding to the salad.)

1. Cut and core the apples. I like to use a melon baller to core out the apple and cut out the blossom and stem ends with a “v” shape cut. With the flat side down, cut the apple in to 1/2-inch thick slices. Then, with 2 – 3 slices laying flat on the cutting board, cut the apples into 1/2-inch dice. Place the apples into the bowl.

I find using a melon baller very effective for coring apples. Plus, it’s safer than either a knife or an apple corer. (I frankly find apple corers to be completely useless.)

Core. Out.

Remove the stem and blossom ends by cutting out a v-shaped piece at each end.

Blossom end cut out.

Apples cored, cleaned, and ready

2. Add the celery, nuts, and dried fruit. Toss together.

All mixed together.

3. Add the cheese and mayonnaise. Mix together until well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ready.

4. Traditionally, Waldorf Salad is served on a bed of lettuce. I generally don’t. However, if you would like to, go ahead. I like to serve the salad with crackers or a good crusty bread.